Karnataka govt notifies reservations for 369 GBA wards ahead of Supreme Court hearing

While wards have been reserved across the General, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) categories, 50% of the wards have been reserved for women across all categories.

Bengaluru: Just three days before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a special petition on the delay in conducting local body elections, Karnataka has notified reservations for 369 wards under five newly carved municipal corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA).

While wards have been reserved across the General, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) categories, 50 per cent of the wards have been reserved for women across all categories.

On Thursday night, the government published draft notifications announcing ward reservations separately for each of the five corporations in the official gazette, providing 15 days for citizens to raise objections, if any.

The notifications mark a major step towards holding elections to the long-delayed corporations in Bengaluru, which has been under bureaucratic and government-appointed administration since the term of the erstwhile Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council ended in September 2020.

The publication of ward-wise reservations is also politically significant, as it determines which categories and wards will be open or reserved, compelling many former councillors and aspirants to either switch wards or drop out altogether. It will also allow political parties, including new entrants such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party (BNP) and Karnataka Rastra Samiti (KRS) to select candidates well in advance.

For instance, in the Bengaluru Central City Corporation, of the 63 wards, 11 are reserved for Scheduled Castes, one for Scheduled Tribes, 15 for Backward Class ‘A’, four for Backward Class ‘B’, and 32 fall under the General category, with the 50 per cent women’s reservation applied across categories.

However, questions have been raised over the number of wards reserved under different categories.

Former councillor NR Ramesh said the government had made “several mistakes” and suspected that the exercise was carried out in “haste” without adhering to reservation norms.

“As per the rules, 50 per cent reservation must be provided for women in all corporations, but the women’s quota falls short by 11 wards,” he said, adding that the 33 per cent reservation for OBCs has also been implemented incorrectly.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has also listed the case for hearing on Monday.

Unlike the previous election, which was held for 198 wards, the upcoming elections to Bengaluru’s five municipal corporations will be contested across 369 wards, an increase of 171. This indicates that ward sizes have been reduced, a change that is expected to make electoral contests more competitive.

An official from the State Election Commission (SEC) said the final electoral rolls would be ready by March 16.

“We should be able to hold the elections in the summer, and the dates will be finalised while taking into account the examination schedule of college students,” he said.